Embracing the Storm
by GrizzlyUnderThere
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto's training was cut short after Orochimaru and Jiraiya slew each other. He arrives back in Kohona, 1 and half years early and in a strange predicament, while a myriad of forces prepare to strike. Naruto x Hinata. Title has been changed!
1. Disaster

**Embracing the Storm  
**

** By Matt Bear, aka Grizzlyunderthere **

**This story is considered fanfiction. I do not own any characters/plot of Naruto. This means, what I write is not cannon and should be considered what it is. This story features character death and/or differentiation in character then the official cannon. Therefore this story is AU (Alternative Universe). Please keep in mind that I try to the best of my ability and if it does not live to your expectations...I'm sorry.**

**Notice: This story used to be called Toad, Snake, Slug! But, now it is currently the overall title of three or more volumes that are planned out. The first arc will be called Embracing the Storm. The second arc will be called Cherry Blossoms in the Wind, and the final one will be called Redeeming the Fallen.**

Embracing the Storm

Chapter One

Disaster

"Oh, Jiraiya! Come out, come out wherever you are!" Orochimaru yelled as he brandished his sword, "Don't think I won't find the Kyuubi brat as well." As Orochimaru surveyed the scene he allowed himself to lick his lips much like a serpent. "Sasuke-kun, find Naruto for me!" he yelled as a cloaked Uchida Sasuke, bolted through the trees.

As if out of nowhere Jiraiya, bloodied and broken appeared behind Orochimaru, a spiraling sphere of chakra, burning in his hand. "Rasengan!" he shouted as he drove the ball of chakra into Orochimaru's lower back area and coming out on the other side. Orochimaru opened his mouth in a silent scream as he twisted his upper torso around plunging the Kusangi blade into the chest of Jiraiya. "It's over...we're both going to die now."

Orochimaru screamed in pain as he slid off of Jiraiya's now chakra less hand and said as he giggled insanely, "I'm immortal, Jir-baka. Not even the Fourth's prized jutsu can kill me" he said as he shuddered as pains racked his body forcing an agonized scream to escape his lips..."This should not be happening!"

Jiraiya bared his teeth as he fell to his knees in blood streaming out of the wound. "Perhaps, a side-effect of Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)?" He laughed as Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock.

"That old dead fool couldn't of?" Orochimaru said as his body was shaken by great racking coughs. Jiraiya just looked up and laughed.

"Just like the old days isn't it? When, Sensei was always one step ahead of your plans?" Jiraiya said as he pressed his hand to the wound.

"What did he do!" Orochimaru screamed as he screamed in unbearable pain.

"You annoyed the Death God when you escaped his grasp..." Jiraiya said with a broad smile as Orochimaru panted heavily. "Anyone who survives the Shiki Fujin is marked with God's disfavor. He's just performing payback, Orochi-teme." he said calling him by his old nickname. "Soon? Your soul will be pulled into the underworld and left to rot. Along with me." Jiraiya coughed as he pulled a kunai from his holster and looked at it.

"Going to kill me, old friend?" Orochimaru snickered as he groaned.

"I have words for my student, Orochi-teme. I'll see you in the next life." Jiraiya said as he drove his kunai into Orochimaru's chest piercing his heart. Orochimaru spasmed once as a black mist enveloped his body and disappeared leaving behind a ring with the kanji "Void" on it, a scroll, and the Kusungi. Jiraiya collapsed as he called softly "Naruto no Baka, come here." A rock beside Jiraiya shimmered leaving Naruto kneeling beside his master. About five foot six, Naruto stood much taller then when he left Konoha, but as Naruto cradled his master's head he suddenly felt much smaller remembering the first time he met the perverted Sennin.

"Ero-Sennin? Will you be okay?" Naruto asked softly as an explosion fired in the background. Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"I took a wound in the heart, Naruto...I have three pieces of advice for you. So, listen brat. First, you have skill, if you'd just think! Remember to think when you get in a tight spot. Second, don't rely on the Kyuubi. It's a crutch just like a curse seal...its goal is not to help you. It's to get out." Jiraiya paused as he coughed some blood out.

"And?" Naruto asked as he fought back tears. Jiraiya smiled a bit as he cuffed Naruto upside the head lightly.

"Third, be sure to make friends with that little Hyuuga, plus take the ring Orochimaru dropped...it's his Akatsuki ring. That ring will help hide you from them. It blocks crying, against you. I heard a rumor that each ring can do something unique. Naruto, you will be Hokage. I've trained one of them, and you're like him in more ways then you think." Jiraiya said as he added, "Don't give up, now set me down and go for camp, pack up your supplies and the Scroll of Frogs...don't forget to study it. Take my headband." Naruto took the headband off and stuck it in his pack as he nodded. Jiraiya laid back and looked at the sky and muttered as his eyes closed for the last time "I guess it's off to the big cathouse in the sky." As he took his last breath one word escaped his lips "Tsunade"

"Ero-Sennin? Ero-Sennin? Get up, you old bastard! Ero-Sennin!" Naruto yelled as he punched the ground as tears spilled from his eyes "Get up! Get up!" Naruto scooped up the ring and slipped it onto his third finger to the right and ran as fast he could to the north jumping through the trees looking for the camp they had set up the previous morning. As he spotted it he positioned his fingers into a cross-shaped seal and cried "Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clones)" as three clones appeared behind him and began to pack up the camp as the real Naruto strapped on a giant scroll to his back. This scroll was the Scroll of the Toads. It allowed any who signed it to summon the great toads, and the oldest signer of the scroll was allowed to read it fully and master the skills hidden within.

Naruto bit his thumb and slammed his hand onto the ground as he shouted "Summoning: Toad!" As the smoke cleared revealing a toad that was large enough to ride on.

"Treats? Where's Jiraiya-senpai, Naruto-dama?" the large yellow and green toad said in a gravelly voice.

"I'll give you treats soon; I need to get to Konoha fast!" Naruto said pulling out a bag called _Fly Bites_ "Ero-Sennin is dead anyways. Orochimaru and he killed each other. I need to get to Baa-chan now!"

"Jiraiya-senpai's dead?" the large toad asked its lower lip quivering as Naruto hopped onto his back.

"It's not time to mourn him! Gamabisu, please move!" Naruto screamed as he kicked his shoes into the sides of the toad which began to hop in large jumping hops as the three clones tossed two packs to Naruto who caught them. As Gamabisu began to move at extreme speed Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the scenery slid around him as he wept in silence. As time passed Naruto fell asleep on the toad's back. Gamabisu slowed down his pace as he sighed and filed a mental report for Gamabunta, the Boss Toad. As he looked for landmarks indicating his place he felt Naruto squirm from his spot on his back.

"Naruto-sama?" the toad asked as Naruto righted himself. The young Genin sat up rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Yea, Gamabisu?" Naruto said with a flash of a smile.

"Gamabunta has a desire to speak with you." The young toad grimaced as he imagined the words Gamabunta had for the young ninja. "Are you strong enough to summon him?"

"I think so…I may have to draw on the Baka Fox's chakra, but let's give it a shot." Naruto said nervously. He bit his thumb and drew a circle around him interlacing four points in symbols. It was a slower, but a much more sure way of summoning Chief Summon. "Summoning no Jutsu: Toad Summoning!" As he infused the circle with chakra, a toad the size of a mountain appeared behind him with a pipe and a ninja sword equipped to his back. "Boss!" Naruto shouted to the gigantic toad.

"Jiriaya. I felt his name get crossed out in the scroll! What happened, lackey?" Gamabunta said…er, shouted. It's not easy to have a quiet tone of voice when you're the size of a skyscraper.

"Orochimaru…attacked us as we were training. He put a jutsu over me just before he attacked and kept me hidden from his eyes. It was off the wall! They pretty much destroyed the clearing, but Orochimaru's weapon kept Jiriaya from surviving, so he went suicidal and drove a Rasaganan into his gut…then they started talking as the Death God, took his soul…Jiraiya died from his wounds shortly later."

"So, they took each other out." The Toad Boss shouted as he lowered his snout to Naruto's level "Get on. You need to inform Tsunade about this, boy." As Naruto hesitated about climbing onto the great Toad's snout remembering the last time he climbed on without great need the Boss Toad's voice rouse to unbearable levels "NOW!"

Naruto couldn't argue with that as leaped onto the Boss Toad's back as the Toad leapt a great distance beyond the ken of most mortals. The great distance traveled by Jiraiya and Naruto passed in mere blinks of the eye. "Now, this is traveling!"

"I suppose so." The Boss Toad rumbled as he leapt over a village. "We should be back in Konona before nightfall."

"Really, Boss? Jiraiya said we'd be heading back home today." Naruto sighed as he faded into silence as Gamabunta thought of the lecherous perverted ninja.

"Lackey!" the Boss Toad shouted irritably. Naruto's head snapped up as he responded with a murmured "Yes, Boss?"

"Don't act like Jiraiya is gone in vain. Orochimaru was Jiraiya's greatest pain in life. He died bringing justice to the one who got away. I remember when he was your age talking to a younger me. When I was Gamakichi's size." Naruto grinned at the thought of the great toad the size of a normal one.

"Ha! You were a runt too!" Naruto crowed as the Boss Toad screamed in rage and dived into a gigantic lake. When they emerged Naruto soaking he said "Sorry, Boss."

"Anyways, he was given the summon scroll of Toads when he became a Genin along with his team. He struggled to learn how to summon even one toad for one year. I became his only friend. His teammates treated him like he was nothing. Tsunade was in love with Orochimaru and copied his distaste for him. Then, they got into the Chunnin exams...and almost died when they were surrounded by Nin from the Hidden Village of the Rain. Jiraiya saved them with my father and they owed him their lives, but Jiraiya never had the respect of Orochimaru. He fought to get Orochimaru to respect him. By killing him…I think Jiraiya finally gained the respect of Orochimaru. Don't mourn him; he died doing the thing he needed to do." Gamabunta spoke as Naruto thought of one of the pictures Jiraiya let him see. It was much like the picture of Team Seven although The Third still had brown hair, and Orochimaru still looked…human. Naruto pulled out a small locket in the shape of the symbol of the Leaf. Flipping it open he looked fondly at the picture of the Rookie Nine and Gai's Team.

"I guess he really is a hero! Boss! Can you teach me about the Scroll of Toads?" Naruto said perking up. "I want to be just as strong as Ero-Sennin!"

"You do, eh? You're not going to turn into a pervert are you?" Gamabunta shouted as Naruto shook his fervently.

"No way in heck! I'll be just as powerful without the perverseness! Believe it!" Naruto said in the "good guy" pose.

"Good. Then let's dismount!" the Toad Lord shouted as he landed placing his chin on the ground. Naruto leapt to the ground shouting in joy. _"Reminds me of him. I don't doubt he'll get just as powerful or more. He'll need every trick in the book to beat Sasuke."_ The Toad Lord thought as he crouched low to the ground looking Naruto in the face. "I think it's time to teach you how to use the weapon of the Toad Sages of the Past, Present, and Future. The _Kawazu Buin _(Toad Staff)!" The Toad Lord produced a pipe out of nowhere as he spoke. "The Kawazu Buin is a weapon much like the Kusangi. It's a legendary weapon. The wielder of it was the first of the Toad Sages. It's made of the legendary wood kurogane shinrin (iron wood)"

"Just a staff?" Naurto said pouting a bit.

"Just a staff!" the Toad Lord shouted sending Naruto flipping into a tree. "It's a staff of unparalleled strength, beauty and it has the ability to grab and latch onto things using a toad's tongue."

"Cool! Where is it?" Naruto said looking into the Boss Toad's mouth. "Did you eat it?"

"No!" the Toad shouted. "I'm not Manda you fool!"

"Then where is it?"

"You have to summon into this plane of existence. Toad is the seal." Naruto nodded as he flexed his hands into the seal of the Toad. "Now, call for it by focusing charka into the environment."

"Alright! Let's do this." Naruto said as he called out "_Summoning Art: Buki Kawazu Buin (Summoning Art: Weapon Toad Staff)_" A staff the color of ebony appeared in his hands. Upon the top was a toad's mouth pointing in the same direction the staff was pointing. "Wow! It worked!"

"You'll have to find a teacher to teach you how to fight with it." The Toad Lord said as Naruto swung it experimentally sending him flipping through the air. "It's obvious you've never learned any weapon but the kunai."

"Super Bushy Brows or TenTen can teach me." Naruto declared as he launched himself onto the Toad Lord's shoulder.

"Something to remember is that you can use the ability to launch the tongue of the toad by calling for it with the word 'Kawazu'" Gamabunta said as he launched himself into the air again. "We should be in Konoha soon."

"Home!" Naruto shouted triumphantly. "I've missed Ichikmaru Ramen so much!" Naruto thought about the other things he had missed as well. "I wonder how everyone is doing." Naruto sat down on the Toad Lord's shoulder and slept clutching the Kawazu Buin.

It was a normal day for the guards of Konona's Gate. Two Jounin were sitting on either sides of the gate talking in soft tones as they noticed a young man approaching the gate bruised and clothes stained with blood clutching a fancy staff. They shared looks of surprise as they noticed the black and orange uniform and the wearers' headband. "Who do you think that is?" the first Jounin asked pulling a senbon out of a holster and placing in his mouth.

"Uzumaki Naruto. He beat Hyuuga Neji in the exams last year. I heard that he was on a training mission with the Toad Sannin" The second Jounin said beckoning man sitting in the shadows. "Send a message to the Fifth that he's arrived early."

"There's no need. I already sent Pakkun with the message, Raido." The man said as he emerged from the shadows. As the silver-haired Jounin walked out of the small hut on top of the gates he looked down at the approaching young man with a smile showing up through his mask. "I need to talk to my student."

"You know that's against regulations, Kakashi." The Jounin with the senbon said irritability as he turned to find Kakashi already gone. "Pah!" he exclaimed spitting out his senbon.

"Yo."

With that word all heck broke loose. Naruto was distracted with memories when his first perverted sensei appeared in front of him, and as many dead people know, surprising a ninja is a good way of dying. Naruto's hand instinctively formed a Rasaganan and looked around him as he heard some clapping echoing above him.

"You finally got it down to one hand!" said Kakashi jovially hanging from a tree-branch as Naruto slammed it into a boulder destroying it. "And, you're looking good!" Kakashi leapt off the tree and landed in front of Naruto. "Where's Jiraiya?" Naruto could only respond by looking at the ground guiltily. "Oh…"

After a short while Naruto said "He…and Orochimaru are dead." Naruto spoke quietly. Kakashi's eyebrows shot up.

"This means Sasuke isn't going to get his body stolen anytime soon." Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder gently. "You did well." Naruto smiled softly, a mask for what he was really feeling. "We have to see Tsunade. Are you ready?" Naruto only nodded. A swirl of leaves surrounded the two as they disappeared from sight. A woman, a girl, two boys, and a dog looked at each other as the girl's eyes veins retracted.

"Naruto is back?" the young man with the dog on head said.

"Yes." The other young man said as he pushed up his sunglasses up.

"Naruto-kun!" the girl whispered softly, as if for her ears only. I doubt she had planned for the dog and the woman to hear.

The dog merely whimpered in exasperation as it went back to sleep. The woman on the other hand was making plans in her head after a little bit she said "Team Eight! Let's head back to HQ."

"Yes, Sensei!" all four said together although the dog barked it.

_I'm sure Hinata will be shocked to my answer to her problem. _The red-eyed woman thought as they walked through the gate moving towards Hokage's Tower.

As Naruto and Kakashi appeared in the lobby of the Hokage's Tower, two ANBU approached the duo asking "Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi?"

"Yo." Kakashi said giving the two a wave. The two nodded as one of them opened the door to the elevator to Fifth Hokage's office. The two allowed Naruto and Kakashi to pass as the elevator's doors closed. Naruto turned to his sensei as they began to move up the tower.

"Why didn't we just do that teleportation thing to Oba-sann's office?" Naruto asked annoyed. Kaskashi only smiled as he explained.

"Well, the _Konoha Yooshiki: Shimasu Yusoo Kikan (Leaf Style: Spinning Transportation)_ is a faster way of moving from place to place but many things prevent it. That's why we don't use it in combat, besides, I'm sure if we caught the Hokage off guard during a nap she'd thump both of us." Both of them shuddered at that. The Fifth's punches were legendary at causing destruction.

As the doors open two more ANBU officers ushered them into the office one giving a friendly nod in Naruto's direction. "Welcome home, Uzumaki." He said as he opened the door and they walked through. The Fifth was sleeping on a stack of papers in a box with the word in on it. Naruto laughed as he said loudly "Oba-san is getting too old! Drunk old lady."

The Hokage sat straight up and flicked Naruto with her finger sending him flipping into a wall. "I heard that you little punk! Welcome home!" Naruto brushed the dirt off himself as he hugged the woman in charge of the Leaf Village. "It's good to see you again, Naruto." Tsunade looked at him examining him for injuries. "Looks like you've grown like a weed" she said as she looked at the door. "I don't suppose Jiraiya came? Miserable old man." She had muttered the last thing to herself. At this Naruto broke down entirely as he wept into her shoulder.

"He's dead, Neesan" Naruto sobbed as she let the words hit her like a ton of bricks. "So is Orochimaru, they took each other out." Tsunade felt nothing but shock as she comforted the young man while nursing tears of her own. _Both of them? Gone? I'm all alone in the world, _she thought as Naruto pulled out Jiraiya's headband and handed it to her. "He wanted you to have it."

Tsunade placed the headband on her desk as she forced a smile, Naruto's brilliantly blue eyes were tear-stained but his smile had come back. "Alright, brat. There will be a time to mourn later." Tsunade pursed her lips as she shuffled some papers into a neat stack. "Thankfully, you arrived in time for the Chunnin Exams."

Naruto straightened up faster then the words "Free Ramen: All you can eat". Naruto bounced up and down as he shouted "Yes! I get one more chance to prove I'm the best!"

_Still the same, Naruto. Even after the death of someone close to you just smile and move on trying to make yourself an even stronger person. _"The fact still remains that you do not have a team to take the test with." Tsunade said as she looked through a few files. "Sakura is currently a Special Chunnin, soon to be a Special Jounin if she passes her medic-nin exam."

"So, I have to take it alone?" Naruto asked as Tsunade shook her head impatiently.

"All we have to do is find a team taking that needs one more. Currently, Team Eight is missing one. Aburmane Shino passed the exam in Suna with Hyuuga Neji and TenTen." Tsunade said as she brought up the file on Team Eight from a stack of papers. "Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba, you know them both fairly well." She smiled as he nodded. "Alright, starting now you are reinstated as a Leaf Nin and a member of Team Eight."

"Yahoo!" Naruto shouted as he jumped up and down shouting "I'm back Kohona, I'm back!"

"Excuse me." A woman said from behind the door. "May I come in?"

"Of course, Kurenai." Tsunade said as the red-eyed Jounin, and her students walked into the office. As Tsunade surveyed them she leaned back in her chair examining them. "I suppose you want to know why I asked you to report to me directly after your mission, correct?" she pointed at Naruto. "He's now a member of Team Eight starting right now."

The reaction of Team Eight was like this. Kiba had a look of disgust on his face as he remembered his match with Naruto in the Chunnin exams. You couldn't tell anything from the look on Shino's face due to the sunglasses and heavy collar. Hinata turned a brillant shade of red as she ducked behind Kurenai who gave a slight smile as she made some plans in her head.

"It's nice to see you back Naruto." Kurenai said as she examined the young man. "I assume your training went well?" Naruto nodded eagerly. "Good. I expect to see you every morning at 10:00 am at Training Ground Eight."

"I know where that is. The one shaped like a mountain right?" Naruto said as she nodded.

"Exactly, I hope you're ready for a workout, Naruto." she said as she turned to the Fifth. "Is there anything else you needed me for, Hokage-sama?"

"I belive we need to discuss a few things...alone, if you would." Naruto turned to find Kakashi who had been previously sitting in a chair in the office reading one of Jiraiya's perverted novels. As he finally realized that the man had dissappeared on him Naruto swore softly as to not provoke a punch from the Mistress of Pain, Tsunade.

"As you wish." Kurenai said as she sat gracefully in a chair in front of the Hokage as she said "Team Eight! Dismissed!" All four of them walked out of the office into the night as Kiba shouted "C'mon Akamaru! Time to head home!" and waved to the remander of the group and darted off into the alleyway bouncing up the walls onto the roof. He quickly disappeared as Shino said "I'll be seeing you, Hinata." and walked into the shadows as he appeared to vanish into the air.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stammered in the moonlight. Her hair had grown out since the last time he had saw her, Naruto noticed as she said "Why are you b-back so soon?"

"Jiraiya's dead...him and Orochimaru both." Naruto said softly as if he was trying to come to grips with it himself.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun." she said as she twisted her fingers nervously.

"So am I, Hinata. So am I."


	2. The Heir to Nothing

Chapter Two

The Heir to Nothing

In Kohona, the rooftops are highways. You could move much faster then a person on the ground and with less people noticing you. It was for that reason that Naruto preferred to stick to the rooftops. Being the village pariah, didn't make his already complicated life any easier, he mused as he took a familiar route to his apartment. More and more buildings seemed foreign to him as he narrowly missed running into a billboard that he swore wasn't there before. Then without warning memories started to play like a record player as his pace lulled to a stop.

(Flashback: The Neutral City of Tetsuya (All Night's Vigil))

"Wow! This is a real city, Ero-Sennin? It's even bigger then Kohona!" Naruto shouted as Jiriya quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Alright, gaki. Listen up. Tetsuya doesn't want anything to do with shinobi. Thinks they cause nothing but problems...which they are right about, but still! If they find out we're anything other then the bright and noble merchants we claim to be we'll be kicked out on our tails." Jiriya said as he looked down at Naruto. "Okay, I'm going to unclamp my hand. Don't say anything stupid." as he moved his hand away he grinned.

"Ah! Don't do that Ero...I mean Argio-san. I don't know where your hand has been, and I don't want to know!" Naruto shouted as Jiriya slapped him on the back of the head. "Hey!"

"That's for disrespect, gaki. You need to learn not to run your mouth!" Jiriya sighed as he explained. "Have you ever considered the consequences if you disrespected a Kage during a trade agreement or attempting to avoid a war?" He watched Naruto's face twitch as he thought about the implications. As he noticed Naruto go pale he added "That's why you have to be careful with your words, Naruto. A sharp one or an offensive one could do more damage then Rasengan in the long run."

Naruto looked thoughtful. "Is that why you made me read the book on proper conduct? I thought it was a load of rubbish personally." Jiriiya sighed as he made a mental note to attempt to try instill proper table manners, since it was apparent that book learning did nothing for him.

"It's not rubbish! It's important that you know how to act in proper society, if you ever want to be Hokage. You still want to be Hokage right, Naruto?"

"Of course! I mean when Obaa-chan retires who's going to take over, huh?" Naruto glared at his sensei. Jiriyia just chuckled as he thought about it carefully.

"Well, I suppose they'd give it to it to Kakashi. He's the only one who has enough techniques to qualify. You only know one hundred different jutus and you still use that screw-ball Tai-jitsu style. You'd never land a hit unless you had a wall to bounce off of, and I'm sure you know that, gaki."

"It still works!"

"Let's take that screw-ball move the Uzumaki Naruto Rendan for example." Jiriya explained as he pulled out a sketch pad. "You tried to copy the initial opener for Omote Renge." He said as he drew a diagram of the five clone tai-jitsu combination. "What you got was an attack that is almost impossible to land on a healthy opponent, due to the nature of requiring five clones to surround an opponent. If you had proper Tai-Jitsu training, you could launch your opponent into the air and create those damn clones in mid-air to deliver an attack keeping the chain going like this diagram!" Jiriya flipped his sketch-pad around as Naruto studied it. "I've been thinking about how to train you, currently I've been just throwing jutsu instruction and various books at you thinking that you'd just pick up on it like the Fourth did. I apologize." He handed Naruto the sketch-pad as he walked off. "I'm going to find a hotel and do some research." he giggled as walked off full pervert mode activated.

(End Flashback)

"I never did understand why he always confused me with the Fourth" Naruto mused as he pulled the sketch book out his pack and began to sketch out some new ideas he had about the initial Tai-Jitsu move Jiriya showed him thinking about the mentor

(Break)

Tsunade had quickly recovered from the initial shock of loss. She had dealt with it far too often for her liking. She had other things she needed to do right now. She pulled the scrolls she had been studying out and quickly glanced through them making sure she was correct about this law and set them aside as a genin entered quietly and ushered Hyuuga Hiashi into her office. "Greetings, Hyuuga-sama" she said respectfully as he entered with the grace only a Hyuuga could muster and sat down in the chair she offered him.

"I assume you chose to waste both our time to attempt to interfere with my clan's rules per usual, Hokage-sama?" Hiashi stated sweeping the formalities out of the window. Tsunade kept her face still as possible, her eyes boring into to Hiashi's skull.

"As you know, forced marriage is against Kohona law. It doesn't matter if the person in question is a member of a noble family or not." Tsunade said her voice as solid as steel.

"Ah, but Hokage-sama I am allowed by clan treaties by to select suitors for a member of my clan, and if she refuses any suitor from a noble clan, I am perfectly allowed to arrange a marriage without consent and Hinata has refused suitors from all currently eligible families. Therefore, I see no reason why I cannot simply marry her off and be done with it." Hiashi smiled a cat's smile as he basked in the idea of him outwitting the Legendary Sucker.

Tsunade allowed her anger to ebb as she imagined applying her strength into his head. _Calm down, you old rogue_ she thought to herself, _I still have one last card to play, Shizune this better work._ "You would be right except on one point. You haven't applied for suitors from all the noble familes, Hyuuga-sama."

Hiashi almost allowed his confusion to be openly shown on his face as he did some mental calculations. He said gently as if schooling a child "Whatever can you mean Tsunade-sama?" That did it, Tsunade decided as she allowed a bit of her diabolical grin to shine through as Hiashi became instantly wary.

"What I mean, Hiashi-sama." she began dropping the Hyuuga deliberitly. "Is that you forgot a certain noble family with a member just Hinata's age."

"Which one!" Hiashi demanded as his icy composure broke for a second. Tsunade only smiled as she poured some Sake into a small clay cup and offered it to Hiashi who only stared at Tsunade with an expression of sour milk.

"The Uzumaki Clan."

(Break)

"Shizune. I'm not setting my dogs out on Naruto." Kakashi explained patiently to the chief assistant to Tsunade. "He needs rest."

"This isn't a request, Kakashi-san." Shizune stated as she tossed a paper at him. "This is an A-Ranked mission."

"To get Naruto into formal clothing and at the Hokage's office within the hour?" Kakashi read as he mused. "Alright, but I expect double pay. This isn't going to be easy."

(Break)

Hinata paced nervously around her room, her hands clutched at her side. Her father was at the Hokage's Office...most likely deciding her future. "Ano...why has father pursued this route? He was always content to just ignore me."

"Perhaps, he's found out about your extra training or the fact that you deliberately lost to Hanabi-san?" said Neji as he walked into the room. "Hinata-sama, you have to stop holding out for someone to come to your aid and do it yourself."

"Neji-kun...if I don't become head of the Hyuuga clan, I'll never be able to remove that curse seal once and for all!" Hinata said her nervous poster dropped. "I have to stop our clan from enslaving itself!"

"Then you must make your stand here, Hinata-sama. The Branch House has been praying for freedom, yearning for it. That's why we support you."

"Then what must I do?"

"I've been sent to fetch you to our father. There's one more suitor the Hokage has found. I believe your best option is to enter every inch a Hyuuga Princess. If the man is unsuitable, make your stand. If worse comes to worse, apply for emancipation." A small Hyuuga woman entered the room holding a kimono. "Are you ready?"

(Break)

Naruto put his pencils back into his bag as he looked at his diagram. It was crude, but it worked. The sky was totally dark now as Naruto laid back and looked at the stars twinkling in the sky. They never gave hateful stares or ever wished you were dead. They just winked, like they knew something that no-one else did.

"I bet you're up there right now, Ero-Sennin. I bet right now, you're peeping in the greatest bathhouse ever created, but I still remember what you said that day." Naruto said to the stars as out of the corner of his eyes two people landed on the other side of the building with a dog leading them. "Crap!" Naruto swore as he grabbed a Kunai that was tucked into the underwire of his jacket and threw it at the two and scrambled into a defensive position.

"Naruto. Don't you know it's rude to throw kunai at your sensei?" Kakashi said to Naruto as he and Shizune approached. He tossed the kunai back to Naruto who caught it and tucked it away. Shizune embraced the young man she had come to see as younger brother.

"You look healthy, Naruto-san." she said as she looked him over. She then nodded as Kakashi moved into action forming hand-seals. Naruto's body stiffened into paralysis and tipped over as Shizune giggled. "Good job, Kakashi."

"Shigai: Hyouketsu (Body: Freeze) no Jutsu, is an advanced technique used by the Hidden Mist ANBU, compared to a normal body freeze it's ten times more powerful allowing a person to be held for over thirty minutes but if even the smallest bit of pain happens, the user breaks free. Useful, eh Naruto?" Kakashi remarked as Shizune opened a bag pulling out a kimono and various cleaning products and quickly went to work.

(Break)

As Shizune bustled the frozen teenager into the Hokage's Tower's lobby she pushed Naruto into a corner and flicked his forehead hard breaking the technique.

"Ow." Naruto whined as he looked at himself. "Where am I? Why am I back in the Hokage's Tower?" He then noticed the formal kimono he was wearing and almost let out yell. "Ah! Rape!" Shizune quickly put her hand in his mouth quieting the hyper-active ninja.

"Okay, Naruto. Listen to me." Shizune said as she removed her hand from Naruto's mouth and continued. "You have an appointment with the Hokage in ten minutes. This is a very important appointment. Just go along with whatever Tsunade-sama says. Can you do that?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked as Shizune put a finger to her lips signaling quiet.

"Turn towards the wall." Naruto turned as she mouthed out "I can't tell you much, but it has to do with the Hyuuga Clan, the Head of the Clan is attempting to make sure that no one will change the Head and Branch families. The curse seal in particular."

"I told Neji, I would change the Hyuuga, and I never break a promise. What do I got to do!?." Naruto said as his face flushed in anger.

"Just go up there and go with whatever Tsunade-sama is suggesting." Shizune said as Naruto nodded. "Now, go get 'em." Naruto stopped himself from charging as he walked to the elevator and entered it. As he disappeared from eyesight, Shizune smirked.

"That was easy."

(Break)

Hiashi and Tsunade were locked in a staring contest when Hinata was ushered into the Hokage's Office. Neither one of them wanted to break their staring contest, but turned and Tsunade had to fight back a smile. Hinata was dressed in a formal kimono of the Hyuuga clan, with her long hair straighted and interlaced with lilies, the flower of the Hyuuga. Her headband served as her sash of her kimono signifying her alliance to Kohona. She bore an air of gentleness and confidence as she bowed to each one of them. "Hokage-sama, Hyuuga-sama." she said gently.

"Stand behind me, Hinata." Hiashi said firmly. As she moved behind his chair her demeanor almost cracked as she fought against muttering an apology. _Stay strong, Hinata _Tsunade thought. If she cracked she'd just play into Hiashi's hands. "Where is this suitor of yours, Hokage-sama. I have many offers from non-noble familes, that I'd like to address." Hinata blanched at this.

Tsunade smiled as she said "He'll be here shortly. He came in from a great distance." Hiashi snorted at this and Hinata if anything looked more nervous. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the door begin to open. "If I'm not mistaken he's here right now."

(Break)

Hinata tensed as she watched the door open. _I wish Naruto could save me, _she thought as she sent up a prayer to whoever was listening. Maybe they would listen to her for a change. _Fate is fickle, Hinata-sama. It will give you people and things you care about, and then take them away__Neji-kun said that once...this could be the worse trick of fate._ As the Genin who was serving as a secretary entered her breath caught.

"Hokage-sama, your guest has arrived." the Genin said as a blond haired teenager entered a determined expression on his face. Wearing a black kimono stitched with orange silk thread in the style of tornadoes across the front, and on the back was the swirl pattern typically seen on the back of Naruto's uniform. Hinata fought down a blush as she realized what this meant.

(Break)

"Thank you, Uzumaki-sama for coming on such sort notice." Tsunade said as her right hand slipped underneath her desk and formed a seal. "Shiantouei no Jutsu (Thought Projection)" she whispered as she sent out a _thought. -Oi, gaki! Can you hear me? Just nod if you do. If you shout about any voices in your head, I'll make Kyuubi look like a kitten. -_

Naruto's head jerked as if he was looking behind him but he nodded ever so slightly which made Tsunade ease up inside. _-Play along with me, gaki. Just act respectful and address them as Hinata-sama and Hyuuga-sama.-_

(Break)

Naruto was still confused as he attempted to greet them in what was attempted to be a demure tone of voice but came out almost rudely casual. "Greetings, Hyuuga-sama. I..."

Tsunade quickly sent a thought out to him_ -...trust all is well with you.-_

"Trust all is well with you" Naruto finished as he bowed ever so slightly and then turned to Hinata. "It's good to see you again, Hinata."

_-Hinata-sama. You have to maintain the formal attitude at all costs._- Tsunade nearly screamed inside Naruto's head and winced herself. The reverberation of the jutsu were almost as bad as actually screaming.

Hiashi frowned at the distinctly un-formal usage of his daughter's name. "You know my daughter, Uzumaki-san?" Tsunade frowned at this.

"They've been sent on missions before, and are currently being entered in the Chuunin exams together, Hyuuga-sama." Tsunade said testily.

"So...that explains it." Hiashi said as he sent a pointed look at Hinata. She shrank back ever so slightly almost as if she was struck by the sheer power of his stare. Naruto frowned as he just sent a concerned stare at Hinata and clenched his right fist. Hiashi did not fail to notice this and proceeded on. "Let's cut to the quick, shall we? You are here as a suitor to my daughter's hand correct? What makes you think you even worthy of marrying a Hyuuga?"

"Don't try to confuse him, Hiashi." Tsunade said dropping all formalities. "You know perfectly well that the Uzumaki Clan was one of the founding clans of Kohona. That gives him the right." Naruto's facial expression quickly turned into one of stupor. Tsunade frowned as she shot a thought, _ -Hey gaki! Snap out of it. I'll explain later. Just go along with it_!-

(Break)

Naruto's mind reeled. Marry Hinata?_ This has got to be some sort of twisted dream_, he remarked to himself as he attempted to think about a suitable come back. He was quickly choosing I'm not a twisted bastard like you when Tsunade chimed in._ ­-Stay polite, Naruto!_- Naruto pursed his lips as he said "My family's and my dedication to Kohona makes me worthy, Hyuuga-sama."

Tsunade took this opportunity to add "Hiashi, even before the Kyuubi's attack, Naruto would still be considered nobility. Uzumaki Vashi, brother of Uzumaki Yashino, the Forth Hokage was his father. "

"I'm not talking about his family line." Hiashi spat as Hinata looked almost fearful. "I'm talking about his assets. From what I've heard, the Uzumaki Clan has nothing but it's name to it's coffers. It's traditional family housing was sold off to a wealthy merchant ten years ago and all the Uzumaki Clan Techniques are all but lost. What does the Hyuuga Family gain from marrying the next...clan head to a family that has nothing to offer the Hyuuga? I don't give my daughters away to misers, Tsunade."

"Which is why you're planning to marry her off to Gekkoi Urkai, Hiashi?" Tsunade shot back. Naruto's eyes widened at _this. Gekkoi Urkai is like sixty,_ he remembered the stiff old man at the bank who forced his bankers to accept his deposits. "I suppose the amount of money you'd make from the deal, and the control of five banks in Kohona makes it worth ruining your daughter's life?"

"My daughter isn't worthy of leading the clan. Weaklings have no place as leaders." Naruto's fist clenched even tighter as Hinata only looked down at her _feet._ "A Main Branch Hyuuga should be able to defeat her younger sister in combat. A Main Branch Hyuuga should be a Chuunin before the others in her class, if not a Jounin. My daughter is a disgrace to the Hyuuga name."

" Hinata...is...not weak." Naruto growled lightly as he glared fiercely at the Head of the Hyuuga Clan. "The only thing weak about her is the support she gets from those who should care about her."

"Enough, Naruto. Hiashi, it's not your choice. Clan and Kohona law says that she may accept any legitimate suit. It's your daughter's choice not yours." Tsunade shot in before the two men could escalate the argument.

"Hinata is a dutiful daughter. She understands her place in the clan. She'll refuse his suit just like the others and marry who I say she'll marry." Hiashi said in dagger-like tones. "But, go ahead and present your engagement gift, if you are so confident, boy."

_Uh, oh. Engagement gift? Nobody told me anything about an engagement gift, _Naruto nearly screamed in his head as he thought about what girls liked, _Let's see...Ero-Sennin said that women liked only three things...chocolate...don't have any of that and I don't think that would be a suitable engagement gift...fluffy things...no...she works with Akamaru all day, she must not need something fluffy...besides, I don't think they'd appreciate me summoning a toad...jewelry...wait...I got it_! Naruto reached behind his neck and unclasped the necklace that once belonged to the First _Hokage. Okay, next step is to say something real cool so I'll impress her _father, he thought as he tried to remember how you proposed to a _girl. Well...I guess I could kneel like they do in Ichi Ichi Romance in _Paradise. "Hyuuga Hinata, this necklace once belonged to a woman who thought I couldn't accomplish the impossible." Naruto said shooting a look at Tsunade who only looked innocent. "This necklace means that I will change the Hyuuga, just like I swore two years ago, but this time I won't be changing them alone. Will you marry me?"

(Break)

"Will you marry me?" Naruto said and time stopped for Hinata. Her dream boy just asked her to marry him. She fought against what she usually did when Naruto did anything other then say hello in front of her...faint._Think clearly, Hinata _she told herself _Naruto doesn't know...he's just doing it because the Hokage asked him to...but then he doesn't think I'm weak...and he wants to change the Hyuuga...with me. _She didn't respond for a few seconds as her father only stared at her with those hateful eyes that made her want to crawl into a ball and die. _But, Father will..._ she thought as broke it off.

"Hinata will not marry you, boy." Hiashi said with a smirk. "She knows her place. At my side. Doing my bidding. She's not strong enough to change that." Hinata flushed in embarrassment and deep inside of her anger stirred.

Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes and everything became clear. She stepped forward and knelt in front of him accepting the crystal necklace and allowed Naruto to fasten the clasp around her neck. "I-I ac-c-cept, your proposalUzumaki Naruto."

(Chapter Two: End)

(Author's Notes)

******A couple of quick facts, fyis. Yes, I'm back. Yes, it's all right for them to be talking about marriage right now, they are still in a feudal soicety with strict laws. No, Naruto doesn't love her...yet. No, they aren't going to be making out by chapter three. No, getting to married statis won't be that easy for them. Yes, it's going to be hilarious watching Hiashi's antics next chapter. Please, review if you enjoyed it or have complaints. I think this chapter is of signifigantly higher quality then last chapter. I'm looking for a Beta Reader/Editor. Please Email me at Grizzlyunderthere yahoo . com. **

******Enjoy,**

******Matt. **


	3. Paranoia

Chapter Three

Paranoia

"I accept." Hinata said simply as she allowed Naruto to clasp the necklace around her neck. She gave off a fierce smile as the temperature in the room dropped to absolute zero. Hiashi's eyes looked like they would pop out of their sockets, as she accepted Naruto's hand helping her up, a heavy blush forming on her face.

"You...accept?!" Hiashi let out strangled. "You accept!? How...could a child of mine be so disrespectful!" He stood suddenly turning Hinata towards him shaking her shoulders as she squealed in terror. "Do you know what you've done to the name of the Hyuuga? Do you? You are the Heir to the most powerful clan in Kohona, and you want to marry a piece of trash! An Uzumaki!" Naruto quickly stepped in between them and shot a glare that would of killed Hiashi if he had his way.

"Don't touch her." Naruto said simply. _I can understand why a person would abuse me, but their own daughter? _He thought as Hiashi coiled like a snake about to strike. _Shit, he's a Jyuken master, he could kill me faster then you could say Sasuke and Orochimaru are gay lovers, _Naruto snickered inside his head remembering the time Jiraiya got drunk and revealed Orochimaru's quirk to Naruto. "You have no right to abuse your own daughter!"

"Right? Since when have I needed right? It's the weak's duty to be subjugated by the strong." Hiashi barked as he stared down Naruto as if studying some foreign animal. "It seems, that even without being subjected to your clan's doctrine, you are the very soul of an Uzumaki. Very well. You may marry my daughter under...conditions."

Tsunade only watched as Naruto nodded ever so slightly, Hinata behind him looking fearful. Tsunade looked thoughtful. Naruto had reacted oddly. That protective streak inside him had multiplied ten-_fold. Perhaps, he thinks he's responsible for...Jiraiya's death. That would explain _it, she thought.

"First, you must provide suitable housing for my daughter. Not an apartment, but a full scale clan house." Hiashi said testily. "Second, I expect any child..." Naruto and Hinata both blushed heavily at this, Tsunade just smirked, "to be trained by the Hyuuga for four years, or until it is shown that they have no grasp over the Byakugan."

"Agreed, to both of the statements." Naruto said as Hiashi raised a hand to cut him off.

"Also, any child with the Byakugan, will be branded with the Seal of the Branch Family, in order to protect our Kekkei Genki from anyone." Hiashi said simply as Naruto shook his head.

"I wouldn't let you touch anyone with that Seal. Do you think I'm a total idiot? I know exactly what you'd do with the Seal attached to children. You'd just try to control Hinata, just like you do now." Naruto stated simply.

"And, what if someone got a hold of it?" Hiashi stated simply, "The disaster would tremendous."

"I don't care."

"Then you would agree to the immediate disbanding of the Uzumaki Clan if the Byakugan ever was stolen?" Hiashi said a cold smile playing on his lips.

"If that's what it takes to keep you from controlling Hinata from the grave? Yes." Naruto said leaving no mystery about about who'd put Hiashi into that grave.

"Agreed." Hiashi said simply. "You must also prove that you are capable of providing income sufficient to take care of an entire clan, not just yourself."

"Agreed." Naruto said just as coldly. "You will hand over control to the Hyuuga Clan to Hinata come your retirement or death."

"Agreed, provided no member of my direct family challenges her to a fight for control of the clan and wins" he said with a smirk. "So, is the contract agreeable?"

"Only if Hinata agrees." Naruto said concerned._ The man acts like he has me cornered,_ Naruto thought as he looked at Hinata for some clue what to do.

Hinata had been listening half-heartedly when she snapped back to reality. "Uh-h..." she stuttered as she quickly thought about it. "Y-yes, Naruto-san."

Hiashi smiled a full cat smile as he nodded. "Then the contract is agreed upon. I expect all terms regarding personal status to be fulfilled within three months." He stood. Tsunade stood with him.

"I'll bring the written contract to both parties." Tsunade said as Hiashi, beckoned to Hinata sternly. "I think Hinata would do better in my care for awhile, Hiashi. To protect her from any undue wrath that may come from this agreement."

"Perhaps, it would be better for...both parties if she lived in a different location until the contract is fulfilled." Hiashi agreed. "I trust you will provide for room and board, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes. Hyuuga-sama."

"Good." Hiashi turned to face Naruto and stared at him curiously. "My brother and I were...friends with your father and uncle. You remind me of them. Perhaps...my initial judgment of you was wrong, but time reveals all." He said simply as he swept out of the room. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as he collapsed into a chair. Hinata just stood in the middle of the room like a deer caught in the Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Bind).

"Hinata." Tsunade said gently. She snapped to attention. "Shizune is waiting outside for you."

"Y-yes...t-thank you H-hokage-sama." Hinata said nervously as she left the room.

As she left the room Naruto just stared at Tsunade, his right eye twitching, a vein showing. "You...you...you...set me up didn't you! You pervert!"

Tsunade only smirked as he let out a short scream. _Uzumaki Naruto, Legendary Sucker, _she thought as he just kept ranting about perverts and what he'd do with them. _He'll thank me in the end, _Tsunade decided as she said to Naruto, "Oi, gaki! Shut up for a moment. This is important, regardless of wether or not I'm a pervert."

"You are you old hag!" Naruto said as Tsunade reached over the desk and flicked him sending him toppling over the chair.

"I'm doing this for your own good, so be thankful! If you succeed with those moronic conditions he put you through, you'll be a lot closer to becoming Hokage." Tsunade said distracting him from the real reason he was upset. "Imagine having the Hyuuga family behind you when you attempted to gain the Hokage position."

Naruto grinned that stupid grin whenever he was imaging becoming Hokage. "I bet the council would just roll over and die if Hiashi told them to make me Hokage." he said laughing, Tsunade shared a laugh with him.

"I bet they would, Naruto." Tsunade agreed, then sobered up. "You're going to have to learn a lot more then jutsus if you want to accomplish those conditions though."

"Is it true then?" Naruto remarked idly looking downcast. "Did the Kyuubi really kill all of my family? Every single one of them? Did the house I was supposed to grow up in really get sold off? What about my father...I had always figured I was just an orphan from the very beginning just picked because I was born on that night." Naruto said letting his mask crack ever so slightly, "I always hoped that somewhere...I had someone who was my family...but...I don't do I?"

Tsunade sighed as she looked at the morose boy. "Naruto...I'll lay it to you straight. You were the only child that the Uzumaki family had bore for a while and your mother died in childbirth." she sighed at this as a medical nin, it always bore heavily on her when people died and could be saved. "The Uzumaki Clan was known as the Beasts of Kohona."

"So...'um...I'm related to Gai?" Naruto asked sheepishly as she sighed.

"He took that name in honor of the Uzumaki Clan." she said.

"Okay, what about my house?"

"I'm not sure who has it. The Third couldn't stop the council from selling off most of your assets that should be rightfully yours." she said. Naruto just look downcast at this.

"What about the Wind Techniques?"

Tsunade thought for a minute. "I'm not quite sure about this...but your Uncle stored most of his scrolls in the East Kohona's library..." She stood up and pulled out a ledger from the shelves behind her. As she pursed through she nodded. "Alright. We might be able to do something about that. Yoshino stored his scrolls in a sealed chamber there."

"How do you open it?" Naruto asked with hunger in his eyes. Tsunade remembered that Jiraiya loved to get him to do things in promise of learning new jutsu.

"It doesn't say. It says only that it's sealed by the sign of Wind."

"I'll figure it out later." Naruto said as he put his mask of happiness back on. "All that's left is to find a way to provide income for an entire clan...how hard can that be?"

"Plenty hard." Tsunade said sternly as Naruto frowned. "But, I'm sure that will work itself out too. Now. Get some rest Naruto. It's midnight."

"Gah! Where'd the time go!" Naruto shouted as he quickly exited. Tsunade only sighed as she looked at the pile of paperwork she had neglected.

(Break)

Shizune smiled gently as she lead Hinata to the hospital. "This will only take a minute, Hinata-chan." she said as they entered her office. As she entered she closed the door gently and asked "Please remove your jacket, Hinata."

"A-ano? My jacket? Why?" Hinata asked nervously.

"Please just take it off. Hokage's Orders." Shizune said as she gently pulled the jacket off and bit back a gasp. Hinata was covered in bruises both new and old. "Hinata, you didn't do this training did you?"

"No..." Hinata admitted as Shizune clapped her hands together as a green glow surrounded her hands and she started to heal Hinata's body. "My father got angry with me for not marrying an important man from the village and proceeded not to beat me but to spar with me until I passed out from exhaustion." She sniffled as she let a few tears fall.

"Which turned into the same thing." Shizune said as she worked on healing her completely.

"At least it worked out in the end" she said in a happy blush. Shizune smiled at that as she worked on a nasty chakra burn on her lower back.

"You really like him don't you?" Shizune asked slyly. "Enough to where marrying him isn't a problem at all I bet." Hinata blushed a deeper red and began stuttering as Shizune laughed and said "Your only problem is that you haven't gotten him to notice you as a girl yet! I bet when you do that, he'll be all over you, as much as Nartuo-kun gets all over people." Hinata blushed crimson as a small jet of blood shot out of her nose. Shizune cackled at that and handed the girl a tissue.

(Break)

Inuzuka Kiba was annoyed.

In fact he was so annoyed he wanted to hit the current cause of it, which happened to be a certain blond haired prankster for making him this annoyed. It had started when he arrived at the training field, where they normally met up only to find Naruto sitting underneath his tree, drawing in a sketchbook. Kiba had to fight the wolf within him to resist kicking Naruto as hard as he could. Then, he found Hinata hiding behind a different tree, playing with a necklace that smelled like Uzumaki Naruto. Then, when he had found a different tree to sit under while waiting for his sensei showed up, Akamaru had managed to steal his pemmican and was munching on it happily. "Meh, at least I haven't gotten my ass kicked today...yet." he muttered as Naruto kept doodling. "Hey, Uzumaki! Did you learn anything interesting while you were away? Or, were you just slacking?"

"I wouldn't show you any of my new tricks, Inuzuka. You'd just copy them." Naruto commented airily waving his pencil.

"Hah! As if they were worth copying!" Kiba said annoyed.

"Pride comes before the fall, Kiba." Naruto said as he continued to draw. "You didn't think I was worth your time in the Chunnin Exams, two years ago. What happened? I kicked your ass!" Kiba remembered that painful memory. Naruto had more brains then he'd like to admit at times, and a lot more luck then he did.

"Bah, only because you let out some gas at the right moment." Kiba retorted as he added, "Yea, you surprised me. I think you surprised everyone but Hinata." Naruto looked thoughtful at this. His brow was scrunched up and he rested his head in the palm of his hand and he looked just like a..."Hey, Old Man Uzumaki!" Kiba yelled as he laughed.

"Old Man Uzumaki?" Naruto asked as he thought about himself in sixty years. He snickered. He laughed. He started rolling on the ground laughing his head off. Kiba looked at him strangely. Then he snickered as the mental image of Naruto in fifty years shouting his head off, and began laughing.

Hinata looked wide-eyed at both of the young men laughing their heads off and gave a slight giggle. "No matter how old you get, Naruto, you still can make almost anyone laugh." _And, that's why I love you, _she added in her head.

It was to this scene Kurenai arrived to. "Somehow, I don't think I want to figure out what they are laughing about." she said to herself as she looked at the two young men who were still laughing. She formed the half-tiger seal and concentrated as a large pop went off. Both laughing shinobi snapped to attention in different ways. Kiba just straightened and looked instantly dangerous. Naruto quickly drew two kunai and tossed them at the source of the noise and snapped to a crouching position. It wasn't much of an attack, but it bespoke of great paranoia.

"Whoa, watch it! That's our sensei your chucking Kunai at, Naruto!" Kiba growled as Kurenai just examined the kunai and sighed.

"How long have you had these kunai, Naruto?" she asked thoughtfully. She didn't know much about weapons, but she knew an used one when she saw it.

"...er...five...no...six years?" Naruto admitted sheepishly. Kurenai sighed.

"and, the shuriken you were going to toss at me?"

"I think I got them when...I was eight...so..." Naruto said as Hinata shot him a concerned look. Old ninja tools frequently broke during the heat of battle.

"You'll need new ones, these would just break in a direct confrontation." Kurenai said gently. Naruto was acting very un-Naruto like right now. The Naruto from her analysis did not act nervous, and his paranoia could be downright dangerous._ This could be side-effect of Jiraiya's death. Normally, most of us would be crying or mourning in some way but he's just trudging along_, Kurenai thought as she added to herself, _Naruto's going to be on my team for quite a while. It might be my only chance of correcting his fundamental problems_. "Why haven't you bought new ones?" she asked gently as he sighed.

_Damn. Caught, _Naruto thought as he prepared to smile and just shrug his way out of it. "A Hokage doesn't have time to get new weapons!"

"You mean no one will sell you anything, correct?" Kurenai said bluntly. Naruto just looked off into the distance.

"Well, I did a lot of things when I was younger. Pranks, and the like! You know how it is. You egg, a building you find yourself banned from almost every shop for the rest of your life." Naruto said simply. _You mean being hated for something you have no control over, _Kurenai added mentally.

"Alright, Hinata and Kiba. I want you guys to take today off." Kurenai said as Kiba grinned "Whatever you're thinking of doing right now, Kiba...don't. Naruto, come with me."

Naruto just nodded as they walked off together strangely silent. After they were far enough out of Kiba's hearing range. "Why didn't you complain to Sarutobi-sama when the shopkeepers turned you away?" Kurenai asked, avoiding the Kyuubi for now.

"I didn't know at the time." He said simply also avoiding the Kyuubi. "Where are we going exactly?"

"First, we're going to get you some new equipment. Then, I'm going to see what you can actually do." Kurenai said as they headed into town. As they entered the town, the stares of the villagers were annoying her. _Has he really had to put up with all this killer intent as weak as it is for over fourteen years, _she thought as she lead Naruto into the Administration District and into a small shop called "The Sixteen Blades". As the shopkeeper bustled up he looked at Naruto strangely and smiled. Kurenai smiled back. She wasn't expecting that type of a reaction. _Of course, if what I heard about the man is true...he's a bit stranger then Gai and Kakashi in karaoke bar._

"You're Uzumaki Naruto, right?" the shopkeeper asked. Naruto looked wary as he nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" the shopkeeper said gleefully. "You got some real skills, you know that? Taking Neji down was no picnic I bet."

Naruto looked almost abashed from even a little bit of praise. "I...um...er...I'm...glad you think so!" he finished as he scratched the back of his head in relief.

"The name's Kuiza Norowichi. Friends call me Noro." he said loudly "I'm what you call an inventor!"

"In...ventor?" Naruto asked the strange word coming out of his mouth slowly. "What's that?"

"Well, I create things! Right now, I'm only making weapons though." Noro said. "But, that's not important right now. What're you looking for?"

"He's going to need at least fifteen good quality kunais. Fifty shuriken, and a small set of exploding tags." Kurenai said as Noro pulled out the various weapons from around his shop. Kurenai decided that if these weapons weren't as hair-brained as the man himself, that she'd buy from him as well.

(Break)

"Now, these Kunai are special, Naruto." Noro explained as he pulled out a blackened kunai. "I've been trying a new type of metal in my base iron, and this is the result!"

"It just looks burned though." Naruto said as he picked one up. "What makes this so different from the other kunai."

"It's a lightweight alloy." Noro said as Naruto just looked confused "A mixture. This mixture of metals makes this kunai lighter then most kunai and it keeps it's edge better then most weapons. The only problem is that it gets really brittle whenever I try to use the metal in a weapon bigger then a kunai! It's driving me bonkers!"

Naruto hefted one of the kunai as he threw it at the dartboard set up on the other side of the shop. It flew with sickening ease as it sped towards the target and stuck there. "Wow! That's awesome!" he shouted his normal exuberance back for once.

"It's not that fast. What have you been using for kunai, kid? Rocks?" the shopkeeper said as he looked at some of the weapons Naruto had traded in to reduce the cost. "That's odd."

Kurenai approached the man as he examined the weapon more. "What exactly is odd about that weapon?"

"It's made out of lead."

Kurenai narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Lead? What does that mean?"

"It means that this weapon was designed to be defective. That's what it means." the weapons inventor said as he looked at the other weapons. "It's amazing the weapons have lasted so long considering the stress and materials in the weapon." the shopkeeper remarked idly. "He must put a lot of care into them." Kurenai didn't say anything as she paid for the weapons and ushered Naruto out after he had promised to come back and test exploding tags with the man.

"He was nice." Naruto said a happy grin on his face. "He even slipped in those "carbon" kunai for free."

In his own way, Naruto was even worse off then Hinata, Kurenai decided as they walked out of the shop. He had inner strength, but his confidence was just bluffing. The moment he got put into a situation where he was complemented he almost froze. Her respect for the young man was rising, but something had to change and Kurenai didn't care what she had to do to change it. She owed him that much for saving Hinata, and for Hinata she'd change the world.

(End Chapter Three)

This update isn't as quick as I like but I enjoyed writing this chapter. Before anyone screams how Naruto is OC...don't. There's plenty of reasons why he is the way he is.

Also, I'm looking for interested writers in helping me write some side-stories in this AU universe. If you're interested drop me a line at grizzlyunderthere yahoo . Com.

Until next time.

Matt.


	4. Factors

Chapter Four

Factors

Kurenai slid into the jounin bar, tired, dejected, and most of all...angry. The testing of Naruto was surprising to say the least and not all in a good way. As she looked at the various patrons one stood out. A certain masked gray haired ninja was sitting at the bar morosely drinking himself in a stupor. Kurenai marched up to the bar and took a seat next to him and ordered a large bottle of sake. She was going to need it if she was to keep herself from killing the man. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now, Kakashi. I really need one." Kurenai growled as Kakashi turned to face her.

"Because you'll get blood on your clothes? I do bleed a lot." Kakashi said as he turned back to his drink drink.

"By the Kami, I really wish you didn't have the Sharigan or I'd put you in my nastiest genjutsu and leave you there to rock." Kurenai growled "You really fucked up with the Uzumaki kid." The expression on Kakashi's face turned unreadable. "He was put on my team today. So, I tested him in all three areas."

"How'd he do?" a bearded man said as he approached the bar.

"I first tested him in tai-jitsu, Asuma. Did you know all of his tai-jitsu is self-taught, Kakashi?" Kurenai said shooting him a withering glance. "Every single bit of it. It needed to be corrected when he was first assigned to be trained underneath you." Kakashi didn't say anything as he sighed. "Then I tested him with gen-jutsu." She took a sip of sake. "He doesn't have a lick of talent for the fine points of it, but he's got plenty of imagination."

"I know." Kakashi said simply.

"So, I taught him Shinshoufuukei (Imagined Landscape) no Jutsu" she said as she added "He's a terror with it."

Asuma bit back a laugh. "I bet he is. What did he do?"

"First, he kept warping his position with it just by an inch or two. Nothing dramatic, but it was enough for him to keep dodging my attacks." Kurenai said impressed with Naruto. "Then, he started to blur his outline. I could of broke it then, but I wanted to see what he was up to." she touched her forehead remembering the massive headache she got. "He started to move afterwards. Leaving a trail of prismatic after burn following him. I got a headache just watching it."

Asuma laughed out loud when he heard this, "That's pretty good for squirt like him."

"Naruto's never had any talent for gen-jutsu." Kakashi said turning his eyes on his drink. "How did he learn a B level gen-jutsu? He can't even make a Bushin."

"All you need for gen-jutsu is good chakra control and imagination." Kurenai said. "What happens when you remove the need for chakra control?" Kakashi's visible eye widened in shock. "Shinshoufuukei doesn't need chakra control. Just enough chakra to pump into it for it's effects to be seen. Like Kage Bushin it gets better with the more chakra put into the technique. That's why I don't use it myself. He'll never be a great gen-jutsu user, but the illusions he can make are devastating."

"I never knew." Kakashi said ashamed.

"Of course, you didn't know. You don't know anything about the damn boy. Did you know he was using lead weapons for over five years?" Kurenai snarled.

Asuma got very still at this, "Lead weapons? Who would make a lead weapon?"

Kakashi thought about this for a while. "I'm sure some of the shopkeepers wanted to get back at the boy, so they gave him defunct equipment. I bet the same person gave him that uniform."

"Asuma-kun. Could you look into that for me?" Kurenai said sweetly turning on the Yuuhi charm that their family was legendary for. "I'll make it up for you, I promise." she said tossing a pout his way making him blush like a genin. "Please?"

"There's a reason your family were all courtesans." Asuma muttered beet red, but out loud he added "Sure, Kurenai. No problem." He exited the bar rather quickly as Kakashi just cracked a perverted grin, but was quickly shot down by a glare from Kurenai.

"You're lucky that Naruto knows enough ninjitsu to make most people envious or I'd slice you open right now." Kurenai said as she sighed "He's not really ready for the Chunnin Exams. He doesn't have a grasp on the fundamentals, but his rate of growth is substantial. Right now, he's still running through taijitsu drills...and skill-wise I have no doubt he'd be ready for the Chunnin exams...but."

"But, what?" Kakashi asked as swirled his drink.

"You haven't noticed that even the littlest unexpected noise or disturbance makes him twitchy?" Kurenai asked as she kneaded her temples. "The boy is suffering from acute mental stress. What in the Kami happened to him? A fourteen year old teenager doesn't act like that usually. Ninja or not."

Kakashi sipped the drink he had ordered through his mask as he said softly as so the other jounin around him wouldn't listen. "Jiraiya's dead."

Kurenai felt queasy inside as she thought about the impact of losing one of the Sannin. "He's dead? Who killed him?"

"Orochimaru." Kakashi said as he quickly added "He's dead too."

"Anko will breathe a sigh of relief at least." Kurenai said as she sighed and finished her drink. "Why did you neglect him so much, Kakashi? You don't normally pull this sort of shit."

Kakashi only took a drink as he walked away. "Later." he said as he waved. Kurenai sighed as she thought about how best to correct the boy's mental instability.

(Break)

Naruto was shifting between tai-jitsu stances and throwing blows attempting to figure out how it all worked together. The log he was working on was getting pummeled but he didn't care. "Horse to rat, rat to eagle, eagle to horse!" he chanted as he shifted through the forms moving from punch to block to kick. "Uppercut, rotating block, sidekick." _This is so much simpler then what those instructors told me, _Naruto thought as he remembered being taught to use a stance that pretty much left him open to every attack in the book. As he worked the log down to splinters, he started to work on different stances Kurenai had outlined like bear and scorpion. "Shifting from Bear to Horse doesn't work." Naruto remarked as pulled a couple splinters out of his fist.

"Yosh! That is because they are punching stances, Naruto-san!" shouted a voice and Naruto dived behind the training log then emerged.

"Don't scare me like that, Lee!" Naruto shouted at the bowl-cut youth. "By the Kami!"

"Sorry, Naruto-san! It is good to see your fires of youth still burns red-hot!" Lee shouted just as loudly.

"Stop yelling!" Naruto yelled back ignoring the fact that his voice was just as loud. "What do you mean they are both punching stances?"

Lee sat down in the clearing explaining, "It's like a dance, Naruto-san! You don't twirl the girl twice in a row!"

Naruto started to laugh as he thought about Lee dancing. "Lee, you know how to dance?" Naruto said in-between laughs, "I'd never expect you of all people to know how to dance!"

"Sakura-chan, the wonderful flower she is taught me!" Lee announced happily as Naruto grinned.

"So, you and her are going out?" Naruto asked feeling a twinge of disappointment, but shook it off.

"We were. Sakura said she couldn't keep dating someone who was exactly like Gai-sensei all the time." Lee said sadly. Naruto fought back his inner demon that wasn't his inner demon who was cheering for his loss as he thought about it.

"How did she break up with you? Loud and with fists? Or, quiet and nervous with a bit of tears?" Naruto asked as he sat with the young tai-jitsu master.

"Well, she was really quiet...and when she finally did do it...she just ran off crying." Lee said trying not to remember it.

"That's good for you." Naruto explained. "If Sakura was crying, that means you still have a chance!"

Lee's reaction filled his entire body. The color returned to his face and the smile he gave was more vibrant then ever. "Then, I will go and proclaim my love once more!" he stood and was preparing to leap off into the distance when Naruto's arm snaked in between his legs and tripped him up. "Naruto-san that was a cruel move, I only wish to tell her how I truly feel!"

"Don't you get it, Lee? If you want Sakura, you will have to change." Naruto said loudly.

"I have to change? Why? Gai-sensei is the epitome of cool!" Lee said even louder. Naruto sighed. _This is going to be a lot harder then I thought, _Naruto thought.

"Look. Sakura wants you to be you. Not you to be Gai-sensei." Naruto said trying to force a concept into his head. "She just doesn't want you to live as a person that isn't the true you." Lee didn't say anything as he just stood and delivered a punch to the already weak training log shattering it. He sat back down and sighed. "Feel better?"

"Yosh! If that's what it means to have the lovely Sakura-chan in my arms that is what I will do!" Lee shouted as loud as he could. Naruto grinned as he basked in Lee's enthusiasm. "What do I have to do?"

"The trick to Sakura is that if she really wants something she won't stay away." Naruto smirked as he rubbed his index finger underneath his nose "So, what you have to do is go somewhere...where she isn't and wait...a place...like Suna! I'm sure Gaara would love to have you as the ninja representing Kohona for a couple of months, and I bet you could learn an awesome new style there, making Sakura realize what an idiot she's been!"

"My lovely Sakura-chan is not an idiot!" Lee said defensively, "But, your plan has the fire of youth behind it!"

Naruto grinned. "Good. I'll talk to Baasan for you."

"And, I will tell Gai-sensei what I plan on doing!" Lee stood and began to walk off.

"Wait! Lee! Do you think you could convince Gai to help me with my Tai-jitsu?" Naruto asked as he stood.

"You burn with the same fire Gai-sensei and I do! Yosh! He will accept you!" Lee said giving his "good guy" pose. "Meet us at five at the Gates!" He ran off and Naruto sighed.

"I hate getting up earlier then nine." he muttered.

(Break)

Hinata was grateful for the day off. She had a good time not being worried for once about her father, and enjoyed the sunshine and the fresh air. As she walked back to Shizune's house she noticed Neji standing next to it in an alleyway. _I wonder what he wants_, Hinata thought as she approached him. "G-greetings, Neji-nii-san." Neji nodded and beckoned her deeper into the alley way.

"Hinata-sama. It is good to see that you are well." Neji said settling into a corner of the building that was out of sight from the main street. "I apologize for bothering you, but the situation was becoming urgent."

"What is it, Neji-kun?" Hinata asked nervously slipping into the shadows beside her cousin. One look at his face told her all she needed to know. "This involves F-father right?"

"Hiashi-sama has been...restless as of late. He did sign the contract that Uzumaki Naruto and he forged, but has been as of late been making plans." Neji said with the air of someone giving a mission report.

"Plans? How do you know he was making plans?" Hinata asked. This was just a formality, but with Neji formality was the only way he could cope.

"Simple. He has had three guests today. All three of the guests were of non-Hyuuga decent." Neji said with a small smirk.

"Did you recognize any of the guests, Neji-kun?" Hinata asked as she tented her fingers in front of her face.

"The first guest was a town elder by the name of Nichi Orkiam. I could not recognize the second guest, but he did wear the sash which denotes him a council member of Kohona, and the third member was...Gekkou Urkai." Neji said as Hinata absorbed this information.

"Are you sure it was Gekkou Urkai?"

"Absolutely. The Hyuuga who served him tea remembered him saying his name out loud. There is no mistaking him."

"Thank you, Neji-kun. This is very important information. I'm glad you came to me with it." Hinata said as Neji held up a hand to forgo the thanks.

"There's more." Neji said as he scowled. "Hiashi-sama used the Seal of the Branch House and placed a young female branch member into a coma for spilling some tea today." Hinata gasped and thought, _Father never uses the branch seal. He swore he'd never use it._

"H-how...could h-he do such a thing?" Hinata said as a tear rolled down her cheek. "He's d-doing this because of me!"

"He is shifting his rage from you to whoever he can lay his hands on." Neji said as he let his mask crack showing concern. "It seems you were the only thing keeping the Hyuuga together, and he's trying to get you back."

"And, how has the Branch House taken his actions?" Hinata said fighting guilt down.

"As you may expect, the Branch House council wanted to revolt against Hiashi-sama and the Main House. It took me an hour to convince them otherwise." Neji snorted which made Hinata want to giggle in spite of it all. Neji hated to waste time when he could be training.

Hinata felt trapped like as if she was in a box and there was no way out of it. "Neji. What do I do? I don't know what I should do." Neji had become her chief councilor, and without him she'd still be trapped by her father.

"Let me handle the Branch House for now. You need to figure out the significance of why Hiashi-sama invited those three people to our house." Neji said as he walked away. "If you do not marry Naruto, we will never have a Hokage strong enough to change our clan. Take care, Hinata-sama."

"Good-bye...Neji-kun."

(Break)

Tsunade looked at the two young men who had just explained their brilliant plan for Lee to win Sakura's heart. "I suppose, but this is an important job, Lee. Changing your image is all well and good, but don't forget that while you are there you are a ninja under Suna control. Shikamaru was complaining about the amount of time he spent there anyhow."

"Yosh! I will do the best job, I possibly can Hokage-sama! The Proud Green Beast of Kohona will not fail his village!" Lee said saluting.

"And, to make sure you do the best job possible, I'm awarding you Active Chunnin status. Complete this mission without any hitches, and you'll be a full Chunnin." Tsunade said as she pulled out a Chunnin vest and gave it to Lee who put it on and saluted.

"Aw man! He gets Chunnin just by sitting out in Suna getting a sharp new image and Sakura's love! Some people have all the luck." Naruto said as Tsunade only stared at him. "All right. I'll send myself through the wall myself." Naruto said as he formed the seal for Shinshoufuukei (Imagined Landscape) and used it to make himself disappear from Tsunade's and Lee's sight and made an image of a fake Naruto jump through the window. He even made it look like the window broke as the Naruto jumped out. Tsunade was up on her feet immediately screaming as Lee shouted about the Fire of Youth protecting Naruto from injury. Naruto released the technique and waited five seconds. "Hey is something interesting going on out there or something?"

Tsunade turned and narrowed her eyes at the blond and cracked her knuckles. _Oh, yeah...this is going to be _good, she thought as he turned and ran. She followed him slowly. She enjoyed a good chase before a severe beating.

(Break)

Kakashi sat in front of the the Memorial Stone like he did on most days like this. It helped calm him down, but after the talk with Kurenai he couldn't quite bring himself to say anything like he usually did. Finally, he opened his mouth and let the words spill out. "I'm sorry, Yoshino-sensei. It looks like I couldn't do what you asked." Naruto looked so much like his late sensei. He even had the same blue eyes as his father and uncle. Every time he tried to teach Naruto something, he'd just see Yoshino's face telling him about a certain concept and how it worked. Or, maybe it was Obito's challenging him to one more race up the side of Training Field Eight, trying to improve himself. He searched out the two names that meant the most to him. "Uchida Obito and Uzumaki Yoshino" he said as if they could hear him. The fire from that night still haunted his dreams as he carried Naruto to the Third who prepared him for the hell he was going to be put through. He remembered looking into that small chubby little face and knowing that in an hour that boy's life would be turned upside down and inside out, but yet that face was smiling. He never even cried as the great beast was sealed into him. He just smiled as if he knew what he was born to do from that very day. "Obito, what would you do if you were in my shoes right now?"

"He'd tell you to move on and get on with your life, you perverted bishōnen." said a sharp female voice as she approached. "But, it's good to see you in one piece Kakashi-chan."

"It's good to see you too...Rin."

(End Chapter: Four)

This is a quick update, but I had to go with what was bouncing in my head. Lee is going to be leaving the story for a good while, till at least Book Two, but that book is going to be Sakura/Leecentric. I like that word. Leecentirc. It's electric.

I want to thank all my reviewers. I have gotten at least 10 reviews for every chapter and that really is touching. It inspires me to speedy updates like this one.

I'm looking for a group of writers to help me write side-stories. If you are interested let me know! Currently, I'm looking for someone to a...well, a sidestory. On some people. If you're intrested I'll give you the details of the job.


	5. One Month to Freedom

Chapter Five

One Month to Freedom

Time had passed in Kohona rapidly ever since Naruto returned Hinata decided. She had the spent the last month avoiding her father, avoiding Naruto, and trying to keep a family under duress from cracking into full out war, but on top of it all...Hinata was bored. The only thing that kept her from descending into a full-blown nervous breakdown was the constant stream of training she kept herself to. She had found herself stalking her crush again, and like usual he totally ignored her. Neji had found it funny that a Hyuuga woman would lower herself down to watching her crush like a shy school-girl and yet still be able to maintain a clan in exile. Today, was the one month anniversary of the pact Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyuuga Hisashi had made, and many had made a note of it. Sakura reminded her to make sure that he took her out to dinner. Ino had told her to send him down to her shop so he could buy some proper flowers. Tenten had told her to corner him while he was training and...Hinata blushed at the ideas Tenten put her in head._No_, she thought attempting to purge herself of the dirty thoughts in her head,_ I wonder if Naruto even remembers... since Gai had taken him on as a pupil and went away on two week training session with him in the mountains._ She shuddered at the idea of tight wearing Naruto as she sent a prayer to whatever spirits were up there to protect him from spandex.

Up in a place far away, surrounded by busty women, Jiraiya sneezed as he muttered "Some cutie must be mourning me down there!"

(break)

Naruto staggered into his apartment later that day, finally free of the training monster that was Maito Gai. He had spent the last month working on his Tai-jitsu under the youthful sensei's watch. He had went through hell, and came out of it stronger, he thought. "If Lee could do that twice a year, then no wonder he's so fast." he muttered as he pushed himself into the shower and cleansed himself, uniform and all. He stripped out of the uniform and applied some laundry soap to the uniform and let it soak in the warm water. After being refused service in every laundry outlet in Kohona, a person learned how to make do. His whole body felt like it was mending after the tireless training he had put himself through. First, he had learned the basics of Tai-jitsu while wearing a full suit of armor. Naruto didn't really understand the concept behind the armor but he assumed that it was to strengthen his whole body while restricting his movements. Then, he had fought Gai for six days and six nights straight with no pause. He still had bruses from where Gai had punched him with his Iron Fist technique. When Naruto had finally given up, Gai began to teach him a style of tai-jitsu that he picked up as easily as breathing. That was the magic of Maito Gai's teaching style. He knew everyone of his students inside and out, and knew exactly how a person's body worked, and why they would excel at it. As Naruto turned the shower off, he dried himself off with a cloth and his eyes caught a picture. It was a picture of him as a third-year academy student, along with the rest of his class. In the upper-right corner was Iruka-sensei flashing a confident grin. In the lower-left corner was Uchida Sasuke, sulking as he attempted to pull his way out of the picture, only to be restrained by Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru who both had a wolfish grin.

As he slipped into a white shirt with an orange Uzumaki symbol that he wore on every piece of clothing he owned and pair of uniform pants, he picked up this picture and studied it. Kiba and Sasuke were two people that were completely different from each other. One fought to be acknowledged by his family, the other fought to avenge it. Naruto thought about it for awhile as he grabbed a coat and walked outside into the crisp autumn air. The town bustled around him as he sat on his steps and watched the merchants, housewives, and children shuffle around as let his thoughts wander.

(Break)

Maito Gai, youthful sensei, slipped into the Jounin bar refreshed as he ordered some wine. Kurnei spotted him and shuffled into the bar beside him. She looked at all the fresh bruises he was sporting and pushed some money to the bartender as he brought a check over. "This round is on me, Gai. How'd Naruto do?"

"Yosh! He excelled after I had corrected his defects like a tree in a desert that has been freshly watered." Gai said loudly, as Kurneai shot him a look. Gai beckoned her closer as he mouthed, "But, I'm afraid his body's strength will always be limited."

"Limited? How so?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Have you ever heard of perfect regeneration?" Gai asked as she shook her head. "It's said that if a human could ever regenerate his wounds perfectly, that no amount of strength training would ever improve. He'd just return to a normal state, over and over, and over again without any change in his body structure. No normal technique accomplishes this."

Kurnenai thought about it as her eyes widened, "So, the Kyuubi prevents Naruto from ever progressing in strength?"

"Exactly. I fought him for six days straight and could not notice a change in him except for a few bruises, a normal person would be limping, but he shook it off like it was nothing."

"Six days? He lasted against you that long?" Kurenai shook her head in wonder. Why had Kakashi avoided teaching this young man? He certainly had the stamina to be great. _I suppose it coincides with why he's always late..._she thought as Gai took a drink of his wine.

"He almost out-lasted me...I had to tap into the first of the gates to finish it. I had to do one thousand push-ups afterwards!" he admitted embarrassed. "His youth is much stronger then I expected, but I was able to analyze him enough to find his true strength!"

"Which would be?" Kurenai asked as her interest peaked.

"His arms are mediocre at best. His legs however, are stronger then even my youthful protege Lee! So, it was only fitting that I taught him a form of tai-jitsu that focuses on it." Gai finished as he took a swig of wine.

"This is hard to believe, Gai. I've heard a lot of far fetched theories from you." Kurenai said frowning.

"Ah! All my theories are true!" Gai said loudly as Kurenai frowned deeper.

"Like the theory that Kakashi was Obito and Kakashi at the same time?" asked Kurenai as Gai chuckled.

"You must admit it does explain a few things!" Gai announced triumpantly.

"All it explains is how he could ever put up with you." Kurenai said as she sighed, "I'll take your word for it."

"Besides, I didn't come up with the idea. Our strong Lady Hokage, bless her soul wrote about it in a book I read once." Gai said waving his hand. Kurenai stood as Gai said morosly as he took a drink, "You know why I trained him right?"

"Because his father trained you?" Kurenai asked as she sighed. She hated when Gai started drinking. It allowed him to think about those he had lost.

"You know he asked me to raise him. Burn my youth, I know I tried to get custody of him. The Third didn't think it'd be healthy for me to raise him. Wouldn't even let me have him on my Genin team." Gai's fist hit the bar in frustration. He turned to his drink as Kurenai walked out of the bar lost in thought.

(Break)

Team Eight had returned to full operation later that morning. As they all filtered into their usual eatery, Naruto was holding an earnest conversation with one Inuzuka Kiba about the ordeal he had to go through training. Shino didn't say anything as he approached Hinata and pulled her aside.

"W-what is it, Shino-kun?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"I merely wish to know some things." Shino said as he continued, "I heard that you and Uzumaki are engaged? It's been very quiet since I've returned from the Grass Country."

"Y-yes." she managed to stutter out blushing a deep red.

"Congratulations, however that was not the reason I wished to talk to you."

"It isn't?" Hinata asked as her curiosity peaked.

"My father has asked me to convey some observations about your father to you." Shino said as Kiba and Naruto started yelling at each other. Shino pulled a folder out of his coat and handed it to Hinata. Shino walked off to join the larger group as he politely told the arguing youths to be quiet. Hinata slipped the folder into her jacket and sighed, then slunked over to their table and put an order in.

(Break)

"Kiba! Naruto!" Kurenai snapped as she rolled her eyes at the two bickering boys. "If you really want to prove who's stronger, why don't you just spar!" Both boys grinned as she sighed and mentally added_ "Checkmate_".

"Alright, Naruto. You're on." Kiba announced as he smirked. "I'm going to beat you down so hard, that you'll feel it for weeks!"

"Feh, you aren't going to beat the next Hokage of Kohona!" Naruto declared as Kurenai glared at both of them. Naruto felt the rising killer intent first as he shrank back, and Akamaru whimpered. "Uh, shall we eat before we fight?" he asked Kiba politely as he nodded back.

Kurenai smirked._ Brats need to learn when to back down,_ she thought to herself as she politely ordered some sushi.

(Break)

Kiba and Naruto glared at each other as Kurenai quickly laid down the rules. "Okay, boys. No Rasengan. No Tsuinurufu (Twin Headed Wolf). Understand?"

Naruto pouted a bit as he said, "Yes, Sensei." and Kiba only nodded his fists clenched. Akamaru , tensed in his position as Kurenai said, "Begin!"

Akamaru jumped from Kiba's head as Kiba tossed him a solider pill, and grew in size and strength. "Gatsuuga (Twin Pircing Fang)!" Kiba shouted as both Akamaru shot like a cannon towards Naruto who only stood there watching, hands in his pockets. As the bullets shot towards him, he bent backwards to dodge the first strike with almost sickening ease, and then as the second one entered his vision, he cartwheeled out of the way settling back into his stance. Kiba wasn't done though, hitting a tree and flipped back towards Naruto. As the blond-hair ninja moved to dodge out the trajectory of the spin, Kiba broke out of the spin, landing a solid punch on Naruto. Then out of nowhere, Naruto's leg lashed out knocking the dog nin back. Closing the gap quickly, Naruto lashed out with a roundhouse that Kiba struggled to avoid._ Shit! He's fast_! Kiba shouted mentally as he and Akamaru launched into a Gatsuuga to try and throw him off balance. Kiba's eyes narrowed as a thought struck him. As he settled from his spin, Naruto threw a flying kick. Kiba grinned as he began to spin, vertically deflecting Naruto and leaving some cuts. "Suichokutsuuga (Vertical Piercing Fang)!" As Naruto struggled to his feet Kiba crossed the distance lauching an upper-cut at him...

Hinata winced as she watched Naruto take damage, as Kurenai only frowned, but her eyes widened as she bit her tongue. Kiba's fist landed as Naruto bounced and dissipated. Shino pushed up his glasses as he asked, "It must have been a Shadow Clone, but when did he switch with the clone?"

They didn't have to wait long, because as Kiba turned around a cry of "Kohona Gyakutenuzu (Leaf Reversal Spiral)!" rang from Naruto's lips as he cartwheeled into Kiba and then launched a spring kick into him knocking him to the ground. "C'mon Kiba! You can do better then that!"

Akamaru whimpered as he got in front of Naruto and growled, preparing to strike as Kiba stood. "Akamaru, I want to do this alone. I'm going new school." Akamaru barked at Kiba as Kiba flushed... "Let me do this Akamaru, I need to prove something" Kiba whispered as Akamaru only whined and retreated to the sidelines. Kiba reached into his ninja pouch pulling out a set of metal claws. "Naruto, I learned some things when you were gone from Kohona, and you'll be the second person to see it. Ichiraku Twin Claw Style!" Kiba said as he jumped into a Tsuuga. "Katsuuga (Metal Piercing Fang)!" Kiba shouted as he extended his claws out so that his spiral became more defined and dangerous.

As Kiba almost reached him, Naruto blocked the blow with his leg wincing as two large gashes ripped through his clothing revealing a chain shin-guard. As the spin stopped on his armor, Naruto's legs grabbed Kiba's chest and Naruto flipped him over his back crying, "Kohona Haji (Leaf Grapple)!" and tossed him.

Kurenai whistled to herself, "They're almost evenly matched in tai-jitsu. Naruto can't land a full attack on Kiba, but Kiba can't stop using Tsuuga, but those claws of his allow him to cut through his attacks. Now, they'll move on to nin-jitsu, I believe."

Kiba laughed as they started to circle each other, as Naruto let out a grin too. "Kage Bushin no Justu!" Naruto said his hand in the familiar cross symbol as fifty of them appeared.

Kiba just brandished his claw's as a flurry of kicks started to come his way, then his claws shot out extending about three feet spearing ten clones, "Hirogaru (Extend)!" as they returned to normal size almost all of Naruto's clones were gone. Kiba leapt into the air as he pointed his claws at two Naruto's as the claws extended again, taking the two clones out. He flipped in mid air and pointed one claw at a tree. "Raiton: Hirogaru (Lightning Extend)!" Kiba said as the claws extended shooting a bolt of lighting out it, breaking the tree and causing the real Naruto to tumble out.

Naruto ran through a list of seals as he slammed his hand into the ground, "Kuchiyose No Jutsu" as a large orange frog armed with a bola appeared. "Gamachisu! Help me out!" The frog tossed a set of bolas that Kiba struggled to avoid mid-leap as the frog disappeared. As he managed to avoid, Naruto slammed his palms on the ground, crying "Kuchiyose no Justu!" as a blue frog in robe appeared beside Naruto, "Light it up, Gamaliman."

"Katon: Gamakaton (Fire: Frogfire)!" the frog roared as a fire jet roared at Kiba, who tucked himself into a spin, rolling out of the way of it. As he landed, the fire hit the ground and bounced at Kiba catching his feet on fire. The dog-nin growled in annoyance as the mage frog disappeared leaving Naruto panting for breath.

"Hirogaru!" Kiba said as they shot out as they went through Naruto who only waved at him. Hinata gave a horrified squeak, as the claws pulled out of Naruto who just smiled showing no indication of a wound. As Kiba opened his mouth, a foot hit Kiba's head knocking him out.

"Shinshoufuukei (Imagined Landscape) no Justu!" Naruto announced as Kurenai moved to check on Kiba who was currently out cold.

Akamaru nosed Kiba awake. Groaning he, swore loudly. A grinning Naruto helped him up as it infected him as well. "I guess I lost again, Uzumaki." the dog-nin sighed as he shook Naruto's hand. "But, maybe I'll get you next time."

"Old Man Ichiraku taught you how to fight?" Naruto asked excitedly. "He never taught me anything!"

"He taught me how to use a pair of claws when I had to rescue his daughter from an old enemy of his." Kiba said without much bravado.

"Really? Tell me about it!" Naruto asked as he bounced up and down.

"Maybe some other day, I'm heading home." Kiba said as he walked off, limping.

Shino just waved as disappeared in a cloud of bugs.

"And, I guess I will be off as well." Kurenai said as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hinata blushed as she approached Naruto, fighting off the urge to pass out. Naruto grinned at her, the urge to hide rose up in her.

"Ne, Hinata? What's going on?" Naruto said obviously.

"N-n-naruto-kun...w-would you like t-to...get some food with m-me?" Hinata asked as he nodded eagerly.

"Ramen!" Naruto cried as they walked out of the forest together. As they walked Naruto sighed, "Hinata...why are we getting married? I mean, I've never liked anyone other then Sakura-chan, but she needs Lee to help her get over Sasuke-teme." Hinata breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the first utterance of getting over Sakura. "I mean I know it was either me or my father, and I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you. You shouldn't go through with this...it'd be batter for you."

"N-naruto-kun...I don't care. We'll work it out."

"Forget what I said, Hinata. Let's just get some ramen." Naruto said despondently. Hinata sighed. _He isn't himself,_ Hinata thought as she walked with him. Resting her hand on his back, he felt him flinch at the touch and wanted to hold him and tell him that everything was alright, but it wasn't.

They walked in the stiff autumn wind, both of them a month older, but no happier. Together.


End file.
